'Basmati Blues' Trailer: Brie Larson Has Wacky Misunderstandings In India

We seem to be hitting a moment of seeing great actors doing projects that are a bit below their pay scale. First there was Michael Shannon and the Bigfoot comedy “Pottersville,” and now there’s Brie Larson with the wacky comedy of cultural misunderstandings in “Basmati Blues.”

The directorial debut of someone named Dan Baron, the film also stars Donald Sutherland (!), Scott Bakula (!!) and Tyne Daly (!!!) and tells the story of a scientist who goes to India to promote genetically modified rice to farmers, and learns the negative impacts it will have on their land and way of life. Okay, cool. However, the trailer is filled with bizarrely dated “cultural comedy” that is either really offensive or dumb or maybe just both. It’s sort of staggering that Larson, who seems to be fairly aware and sensitive to these kinds of things, merrily went along with this. But, the film is also a romance and  musical (of sorts), featuring original music and songs by Pearl Jam, Sugarland, and Sonu Nigam (yeah, I don’t know who those latter two are either). Anyway, here’s the synopsis:

A brilliant scientist is plucked out of the company lab and sent to India to sell the genetically modified rice she created – which she doesn’t realize will destroy the farmers she thinks she’s helping. 

There doesn’t seem to be a U.S. distributor for “Basmati Blues” just yet, and maybe that’s for the best.

Update: producer Monique Caulfield and filmmaker Dan Baron have shared the following statement about “Basmati Blues”:

“We deeply regret any offense caused by the Basmati Blues trailer. We have heard a number of voices that have understandably reacted to a trailer that is not representative of the film as a whole. Unfortunately, the international trailer has given the wrong impression of the film’s message and heart. This movie is not about an American going abroad to solve India’s problems. At its heart, this film is about two people who reach across cultures, fight against corporate greed, and find love. Basmati Blues is an ensemble musical romantic comedy. The film explores our responsibility for our actions and for each other, and attempts to do it in a disarming way, using music, comedy and romance. Basmati Blues is a love letter to multiple eras of Bollywood cinema, musicals, and classic Hollywood romantic comedies. We are confident that the film, when seen in its entiretywill bear out our appreciation and respect for India and its people.”